Ex- Second-in-Command Dick Cheney: A Look Back on the Influential Time in Office

The deceased US VP Dick Cheney, who has died at age 84, was seen as among the most influential incumbents of that position in US history. While many second-in-commands were confined to marginal or symbolic functions, Cheney held enormous influence during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was often referred to as the "real president".

Bush resented such a characterisation and said the dynamic was more complex. He pointed out that Cheney was deferential, consistently addressing him in official appearances as Mr President, while he called him as Dick. Bush disputed even portrayals of their association as a team because it suggested that they were peers. In spite of such protestations, Cheney found the relaxed president pliable on a broad range of administrative determinations.

A Post-9/11 Era

In charge of a group of neo-cons that featured Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he strongly advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in reaction to the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington. When of the 9/11 attack, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. Whereas Bush headed for a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, commanding the destruction of any non-communicating airplanes heading toward the Capitol building.

Cheney stated the strikes altered his perspective, causing him to be focused on revenge. In conjunction with other neo-conservatives, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he advocated for a invasion of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the invasion of Iraq, even though there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein being involved.

Disputed Policies

He expressed no regrets about the armed intervention, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis lost their lives, and not about the harsh treatment of suspects rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq military action, which was predicated on inaccurate information repeated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It proved to be the proper decision to do at that time. I believed it at the time and I hold that view now."

But even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the poor management of Iraq. One of the administration's own delegates to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the post. "I witnessed, as a baseline," he subsequently stated "obvious failure, inaction, and irresponsibility: in the worst case, deception, unfitness, and dishonesty."

Broader Context

Cheney was not entirely responsible for the Iraq campaign. Before 9/11, Wolfowitz had advocated for comparable steps. He had composed a memo outlining circumstances in which national priorities might be compromised (encompassing "access to crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "America should be positioned to act independently when joint efforts cannot be orchestrated," specifically mentioning defense operations against Iraq.

Bush too had arrived in the presidency generally inclined on carrying out what his predecessor had notably declined to do in 1991; overthrow Saddam. After he had been dismissed by the administration, the finance chief Paul O'Neill disclosed how, at the opening session of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had stated his objective of lowering America's engagement in the regional tensions and suggested military action against Iraq.

Bush held a personal grudge against Saddam, convinced he had been behind a conspiracy to assassinate his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the most prominent hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a image of his father's face that everyone had to walk over.

Questioning Techniques

But it was Cheney who was one of the most vehement advocating attacking Iraq, consistently citing information documents that were either weak or totally deceptive. He supported what the Bush White House euphemistically referred to as "intensive questioning", the employment of interrogation method and harsh treatment.

Addressing a Senate analysis in 2014 that found that no valuable data had resulted from the harsh techniques, Cheney dismissed the conclusions as "loaded with crap". He informed Fox News: "We requested [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place procedures to capture the individuals who killed 3,000 of us on 9/11 and ensure it would not recur. That was specifically what they did and they merit a lot of recognition."

Public Image

Cheney enjoyed monikers imposed on him by opponents such as the dark character and the sinister presence, and by the notion that he was a shadow power directing Bush. In the author's 2013 volume about the two, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his lair? That is a nice way to function, actually."

Corporate Connections

Controversy over his commercial relationships accompanied him throughout his time as second-in-command. Although he had limited background in business but strong connections in security, particularly in Saudi Arabia, he was offered a position at Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil and gas conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and top executive.

In 2000 he was selected as Bush's election partner for the executive branch. Contentiously, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was awarded US contracts worth billions.

It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly compensation during his tenure at the firm rose from his quarter-million dollars when he was defence secretary to $4.4m. When he left in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty